Indonesia’s new disaster chief weighs foreign aid to fight wildfires

Indonesian authorities have announced they are open to receiving foreign aid to combat the country's most intense forest fires in over a decade, which have exacerbated air quality issues affecting neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. President Prabowo Subianto recently appointed a new disaster management leader, General Kristomei Sianturi, to oversee efforts to contain the wildfires.

Sianturi stated his immediate goal is to assess available resources and expedite any necessary foreign assistance. The fires have been particularly devastating, causing respiratory illnesses among hundreds of thousands of people and resulting in hazardous air quality levels exceeding 300 in some areas. The Indonesian peatland and mangrove body has been tasked with restoring the country's peatland ecosystem, which has been heavily damaged by deforestation and ecosystem damage, and is now estimated to contain 16 million hectares that are more fire-prone.